Our Little Will
by Abigail Rose V
Summary: Myself and my friend Laura decided enough is enough and summon Will to our house to live. How hard can it be, taking care of an abused Dream Demon go of Chaos? One who is simply too adorable for mere mortals to resist... NariaPrime is the co-author, and is Laura in this fic. :)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The small red car pulls up the storefront and parks.

The door opens and two young ladies in their early 20s step out, chatting happily.

"Well Laura, this is it. We are finishing our part of Will's room today." Abby, a 24-year-old American, grins at her 21-year-old German friend.

"I can't wait!", Laura replies, already almost squealing just from thinking about it. "Come on! What do you think he'd like the most?"

With that, she grabs Abby's hand, pulling her along to the first store, one that sells furniture. "I already know what I'm going to buy for him..." She trails off, grinning back at her friend enthusiastically.

Abby laughs. "I can't wait to see it! I'm sure it's going to be something super cute." She winks at Laura as they enter the store.

Abby follows her enthusiastic friend as she mulls over why they are even here, buying supplies to house a dream demon.

Abby and Laura had met years ago on a fanfiction site, and Laura had introduced the older girl to Reverse Falls and Gravity Falls.

After falling for the fandom hard, Abby felt restless and decided to investigate.

After searching long and hard, she discovered that it was real, and that Will Cipher really was stuck in Reverse Falls as the Gleeful twins' slave.

Having been born with magical abilities, she and her friend decided they would summon Will from the alternate universe and give him a real home.

She was pulled from her thoughts when she nearly walked into Laura, who was examining something carefully.

"Sorry." Abby said as she bent closer to see what her friend had found.

Laura has already found what she was looking for: the blanket/pillow section.

With a smile, she turns to look at Abby, pointing to the staple of blankets in front of them. They are fluffy, thick and colorful.

"Here, what do you think about these? I've got one, too, remember the violet one I tend to wrap myself up in winter? I thought he'd love one like it. Imagine: Will wrapped in a fluffy blanket, just his head peeking out..." Her eyes shine as she describes her thoughts, and she's almost bouncing in place.

Not waiting for an answer, she turns around again and pulls a blanket out of the staple, holding it up for her friend to inspect. "This one's perfect, isn't it? Light blue..."

Abby squealed loudly at the thought, clapping her hands over her mouth in a failed attempt to shush herself.

"Peeerfect." The brown-haired girl all but purred, reaching out to stroke the soft, fuzzy blanket. "We should get him a pink one and a yellow one too. I've got a thing for Will and pink." She giggles and turns to find some pillows while Laura chooses the softest blankets.

"I'm worried he'll have a load of allergies, with him not being human and all." She calls over her shoulder to Laura. "So I'm getting the hypoallergenic pillow. And don't you think these decorative heart and flower pillows would go good with it too? I figure sky blue sheets would do the trick as well." As she talked, the athletic girl pulled various items off the shelf.

Then she stopped. "Forget a cart." She grinned at Laura. "And unless I want to give myself away by levitating all this, I'd better go get one. Don't buy out the store while I'm gone." She winked at Laura and dashed off at a swift jog.

Laughing, Laura turns back to the blankets, searching for the best ones.

Abby was right, they shouldn't let anyone see actual magic, but she can't help but think about it. After all, wouldn't it be fun to see all those incredulous looks directed at them?

Looking between the blankets she's chosen and the rest, she sighs, pulling a cream colored one out, as well. It would go great together with the blue one...

She cradles the blankets in her arms, momentarily forgetting everything around her at the softness, before getting a hold of herself.

"Abby!" she yells across the store, in the general direction of where her friend ran off to. "I'm finished over here! Did you get a cart?"

"Sorry!" she heard a slightly sheepish Abby reply from behind her.

Turning, she saw the cart already had several items inside.

Lacy curtains, a diary, a comb and brush, a pack of pink hair ribbons, fuzzy socks, and three pairs of slippers: kittens, bunnies, and lambs, and fuzzy lamb pajamas.

For a moment, she was torn between laughing and squealing, before deciding on doing neither.

Instead, she grinned at Abby teasingly. "Weren't you the one who told me not to buy out the store?" At the look on her friend's face, she added: "I don't mind, really, this stuff is adorable!"

She dumped the blankets inside the cart, asking: "What do you think about the cream blanket?"

Abby, still slightly embarrassed, was thankful to examine the blanket closely, if only to give time for the red in her cheeks to fade.

"I think…" she paused dramatically, " Its perfect!"

"Great!" Laura smiled, and, noticing Abby's embarrassment, tried to distract her: "Now we need to find some furniture! What do you think of a canopy bed? The canopy could look like a sky... And maybe keep the colors to a few pastel tones and mainly white/cream?"

Abby started walking while pushing the cart, humming thoughtfully.

"Yes." She said as they neared the bed department. "I think that would be nice…our little princess Will." She chuckled at the thought.

She looked at Laura. "Should the curtains be sheer or solid? I mean, I don't want him to think we are boxing him in or anything when he draws the curtains closed, but I want him to feel safe and snug inside too…"

Laura knew Abby viewed Will more like an abused pet then anything, but that only meant she cared extremely about his well-being and happiness, and would do anything to make him feel safe again.

She wasn't so sure about how she viewed Will, as the main thought about him at any time was something along the lines of 'aw, the poor little one, I need to cuddle/protect him...'

"Well...", she finally answered after a moment of thought, "I'd say we get both and let him decide... I had both kinds of curtains in my room when I was younger, too, and I loved changing them often..."

She looked around, trying to find the way to the curtains. "By the way, 'princess' just made me remember something... Do you remember the fake flower crown I had when I was younger? I need to look for it, I think he'd like it... And it would look so cute!"

Abby nodded and let out a shrill squeal that caused some people to stare at them quizzically.

"Ooops." She whispered under her breath. "But yeah, I bet he would."

She glanced down an aisle. "There! The curtains are that way, and the beds are this way. You get the curtains-you know more about them then I do, and I'll find a canopy bed in our price range."

Abby started to walk away, then spun back. "Oh-and take the cart. I won't need it." She laughed as she pushed the cart at her friend, then strode quickly down the aisle.

Laura nearly didn't catch the cart before it crashed into her, but she didn't mind, simply pushing it towards the curtains section.

She came to a stop before a display showcasing a sheer, white bed curtain that had just a little bit of lace on it. Usually, she didn't like lace all that much, but it looked cute and fit the theme of the room. She put one into the cart, then looked around.

"Now, a solid one..." She trailed off, unsure. There were just too many to choose from... Thankfully, they were sorted by color, so she just went towards the selection of blue curtains, stopping in front of them. "No idea... Light blue for color, but the material..." Finally, she just decided to wait for Abby.

It was not long until her friend came skipping back, humming, of all things, 'My Demons' under her breath.

"Sooo, how's it going?" Abby drawled as she came to a halt by the cart.

Laura looked at her friend suspiciously; whenever she talked like that she had something up her sleeve.

She explained the dilemma with the curtains and Abby examined the selection closely.

"Silk." She said abruptly, pulling on off the shelf and tossing it into the cart. "Doncha think?"

Laura groaned. "Here I was, completely clueless, with the perfect choice right in front of me... Thanks, Abby..."

After a short pause, she looked at her friend quizzically, asking: "Did you find what you were looking for?"

Abby hummed, her eyes glowing with excitement.

"Yeah, you could say I did." She said carelessly. "It's only like, the best deal of the century!" she cheered, but managed not to be too loud this time. "I mean, bargain." She hastily corrected, the word 'deal' having different meaning for the two of them then most people, since they dealt in the supernatural quite often.

"Well?" Laura prompted.

Abby resumed pushing the cart, nearly skipping as s he walked. "Well, when I went into the bed section, my eyes are instantly drawn to half off and clearance signs, and lo and behold, the perfect set was on sale for just our budget price!"

"Set?" Laura could see where this was going.

"The bed is a queen bed-perfect, because I didn't want a small bed that would seem cage-like, but not too large where he would be lonely all by himself in there. It is a pale pine, with flowers, birds, deer, and butterflies carved on it. It comes with a desk, side table, dresser, and stool to match. And I picked up this nice rosewood lamp to offset the light colors of his room a little. No carvings, just highly polished." Abby stopped and beamed at her friend. "Fine catch or what?" she asked proudly.

Her friend couldn't help but laugh, asking: "Did you count in that the budget was meant for everything today, and not just the furniture?" To be honest, she kind of dreaded the answer... It did sound lovely, and they needed a full set of furniture anyways.

"Well...", Abby trailed off.

As it became obvious that she wouldn't continue, Laura interjected, grinning: "Can you show me? It sounds great, really."

"Sure!", Abby replied, now grinning again, too. "Come on!" With that, she pulled her friend along, towards the sales section.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

They wound up buying everything, including the bedding set.

Laura was certain that Abby used some mind-control when haggling the price down, but for once she didn't mind.

Will was worth it.

Now that they were home, they had to set it all up before they started the next step of their plan; actually summoning Will.

Abby was to draw the summoning symbols, and light the candles, and Laura was to call out the words.

Both worked fast at setting up the room, both eager for their precious blue demon to be here with them.

They also were eager to take him shopping, since the other half of the preparations were to be done by Will himself.

So, currently, while Abby was busy drawing on the ground of the room they'd cleared out to use for the summoning, Laura sat at a desk off to the side, surrounded by various books, practicing the pronounciation of the summoning spell. (To be sure, she only ever sounded out single words, not in order and not infused with any magic.)

"Perfae-... Perfabri-..." She sighed, before calling out to her friend: "Abby, do you know how to pronounce this part? It's been a bit too long since I had Latin in school..."

Abby looked up from the symbols she was currently sketching out on the floor. "Let me see..."

Laying down the dagger she was using to draw the blood for the symbol, Abby strode to the desk and peered over Laura's shoulder. "Pe-rf-ab-rico." She said slowly. "Perfabrico." She beamed down at Laura. "Can't wait until our little demon is really here!"

"Thanks!", Laura beamed back at her friend, trying not too look at the blood. "I can't wait, either!"

It wasn't as if she was squeamish about blood, not really, but she also couldn't completely understand how Abby could stay so calm while using her own blood. Nonetheless, she quickly pushed the lingering unease aside. After all, it was for a good, important cause.

"How far along are you?", she asked, then added: "And let me check the cuts afterwards, before we try the summoning, okay?"

"Almost done." Abby replied cheerfully, making a face at her friend while she said it.

Abby was a machocist and using her own blood to perform rituals and ceremonies was a walk in the park to her.

Demons always seemed to appreciate, well, as far as demon appreciation could go anyway, blood used to contact them.

For Will, Abby had used a spell to keep her blood blue as she painted it onto the floor.

The older girl actually cut herself quite frequently; she just never really told anyone because no one else appreciated pain as she did, nor took pleasure in letting her own blood spill down her skin onto the floor.

She knew Laura worried about her, so she put up with her friend checking on her wounds.

She turned back to her drawing with a slight huff.

She didn't want it to seem as if she liked being cared about, even though she did.

She kept on ear open to listen to Laura as she resumed her own work, impatient to summon the blue demon.

Meanwhile, Laura returned to her books. It had taken them quite some time to find the Latin incantation they wanted to use, but at least they each knew a bit of Latin, which had made it easier.

Nonetheless, the pronunciation had to be perfect, and Laura was careful by nature regarding things like these, which was why she was still practicing even as Abby called out that she was finished.

"Just a moment!", she replied distractedly, thinking the words through again. A moment later she sighed. "Well, I'm as good as I'm going to get..." She laughed. "We're so close now!"

She turned to her friend with a smile.

Abby matched her smile with a grin of her own.

She was of a more impatient nature, so she was glad Laura took the summoning chant.

"As soon as you're completely ready." Abby said, stressing the word 'completely'.

There was no way she wanted to summon to wrong spirit do to a slight mispronunciation, or turn the house into glue, or something.

Or Laura or herself into gnats.

That would be really inconvenient.

Magic was serious business, one you couldn't mess around in and expect not to get burned.

"Well...", Laura grinned "It would probably be best if I took a short break, I'm way too nervous and excited right now... And you still need someone to check the cuts..."

When Abby just rolled her eyes instead of replying, she laughed softly and stood up, going to the side of the room where she had put some first aid supplies. After all, she had known beforehand that her friend would do this. It simply worked best, though it made her worry every time.

Still smiling, she pushed Abby into the chair she had just vacated and started disinfecting and cleaning the cuts.

"You know, literally blue blood somehow looks wrong...", she finally remarked.

Abby, who had closed her eyes to fully enjoy what her friend was doing, breathed out just enough to lift the spell from her body, causing the blood to run red once more.

The blood painted on the floor, however, stayed blue.

"Better?" she asked, cracking open her blue/gray/green eyes slightly to peer up at Laura.

"Yeah, thanks.", Laura said softly, holding back a comment on how it would be even better if this weren't necessary at all. It would only start a fight. Instead, she finished disinfecting and started wrapping the cuts securely. It didn't take her all that long; she had some practice after all.

However, once she'd finished with the last bandage, something occurred to her: "You should probably cover those up before we start the summoning. It'd unnerve Will, and I don't want it to scare him."

Abby's eyes snapped open wide, and she bolted out of the chair, high-tailing out of the room in seconds, calling out over her shoulder as she did so: "I hadn't even thought of that! You're a life saver Laura!"

The older girl was back in minutes in an orange long sleeved shirt and blue jeans now.

"Ok then." she rubbed her hands together eagerly. "So, when are you ready to summon our little sweetie?"

"You're welcome.", Laura grinned at her friend, the moved towards the table. "I'll take the written down chant, that'll minimize the chance of mistakes. Anyways, I'm ready now."

She took the book that had the chant they were planning to use, then stood in front of the summoning circle, turning to look at her friend.

"Come on, you want to be part of this, too, don't you?", she asked with a challenging wink.

Abby nodded, twisting her fingers tightly as she did when nervous.

"Ah-of c-course I wanna help." she said, trembling slightly, eyes suddenly bright. "Lets get him out of that hell-hole and into a real home."

She came to stand beside Laura, and shifted nervously.

Laura took a few deep breaths, taking extra care to steady her heartbeat and voice, to make sure that she wouldn't make any mistakes. Of course, she was highly nervous as well, but she couldn't show it at the moment. Her friend (who was more knowledgeable regarding magic) had told her very often how important it was not to make mistakes...

With a last deep braeth, she finally started intoning the chant: "Dico triangulum entangulum. Perfabrico extra mentis sensitivis. Foras processus qui videt omnis..."

Abby followed along, her own nerves steadying with the realization that Laura seemed to know what she was doing.

She really hadn't wanted to have to fight or destroy the wrong entity should the wrong slip of the tongue occur, or have her friend upset over having cast a curse on something instead.

Eyes always on the circle, she held her breath as the candles alit in blue flame, and a cool breeze whipped around them, a sparkly, blurry haze appearing in the center of the circle.

Humming, she joined Laura, knowing that the Gleefuls would try and block them, not wanting to lose their favorite toy and slave.

Laura, meanwhile, was also concentrating on not letting the magic reach her eyes. For one, she preferred their original green/brown/grey colour, and having blue eyes would only remind Will of the Gleefuls unnecessarily.

Abby adding her own magic to the spell finally caused the little demon to solidify in the middle of the circle, slumped over slightly and appearing drained, the chains still in place.

'Not much longer now...', Laura thought, and changed to a different chant: "Vinculae dirumpae, et daemonium liberum!"

It took a few repetitions, but in the end, the chains finally, finally burst, and Will's head shot up, his teary, baby blue eyes focusing on them.

"Wh-who are y-you?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Wh-who are y-you?" the blue-eyed demon asked, tears brimming in his baby blue eye as he quaked on the floor before them.

Abby had froze once the chains had burst, her caring, motherly feelings towards the pitiful demon rapidly dissolving as she realized, 'hey, this is the lesser dream demon god of chaos we just summoned and freed; he's hurt and scared and has immense power, who knows what he is going to do' and was prepared to defend them should he have a hidden evil demonic nature like his older twin, Bill Cipher.

Laura, though, was more trusting. Instead, she had to bite back a squeal. He was definitely the most adorable being she had ever seen!

As calmly as she could, while taking care to keep her voice soft and warm, she replied: "My name is Laura, and this is my friend Abby. It's okay, we're not going to hurt you, you don't need to be scared..."

The little demon seemed doubtful, not at all reassured, but he still stayed, even though he could've fled easily.

Laura really wanted to reach out to him, but she knew it would frighten him, so she didn't move. She felt really glad that she'd thought of tying her long, brown hair back, as that minimized the resemblance with Mabel Gleeful.

Lower lip trembling and a tear sliding down his pale cheek, Will still stared at them, waiting for something it seemed.

He looked them over, gaze flicking from one to the other, appearing overwhelmed that he was free and had his powers back, which both girls were certain he was using now to ensure their honesty.

"You-you don't want to m-make a d-deal with me?" he quavered finally. "Y-you just want to h-help, m-m-me?"

Laura and Abby nodded.

Will shuddered and looked down.

Abby dropped to one knee and lowered her head to stare into his bright blue eye, meaning only to ensure his eye was staying blue and not going red, fearing the demon would decide to seek revenge for all the suffering the human race had put him through for so many centuries of his life.

Bad move- with a strangled squeak at Abby's sudden movement and the intensity of her blue gaze, Will stumbled backwards and pressed his back into the wall, shaking.

Abby's heart dropped, not having meant to scare him like that.

She felt sunk with the scars on her body, especially the obvious one on her forehead, her blue eyes, and her own long brown hair, as well as her magical ability.

Will had every reason to fear her, whereas Laura emitted kindness and love in suffocating waves.

"I'm, I'm s-sorry!" both the demon and the human stuttered out at the same time, each with tears in their eyes.

Laura felt her heart clench. She had feared that something like this might happen, had hoped that it would not. Carefully, she moved between them, as slowly and non-threateningly as possible, so she wouldn't startle Will and frighten him even worse.

Softly, she told her friend: "It's okay, Abby, you didn't mean to scare him. Just let me..." She trailed off, concentrating on Will instead. She knew she had to calm him down soon, or he might start to panic, understandably.

She started moving in his direction, before hesitating and asking: "May I?"

Will, who was watching both of them warily, gave a confused nod, obviously not used to being asked for permission to simply come closer.

She moved closer, but stopped as soon as it became apparent that Will began to feel uncomfortable.

Sitting down on the ground, she told him gently: "Abby didn't mean to frighten you. She's really sorry that she did. I promise, we mean you no harm. We just want to help you..."

"S-she is s-scary...", Will stammered, though he looked more insecure and sad than actually frightened now.

Abby nodded and wiped at her eyes. " it's OK you're scared of me, but you don't need to be." She said, holding her hands out appeasenly, her voice instinctively lowering in an attempt to soften it.

Unfortunately, and this happened quite often really, when her voice lowered it got deeper, and it sounded menacing, and to top it off, her hands had landed in the still wet blood on the floor, the result being when she raised her hands, the blood turned red and stained her palms.

Then she smiled, but to Will it now looked like a snarl.

With a scream, he threw himself at Laura, using her to shield him from a very confused and disappointed Abby.

Laura bit back an involuntary noise as she was almost thrown over by the terrified little demon, her arms encircling him instinctively.

Given that Will had hidden his face against her, and therefore wouldn't notice, she carefully mouthed an explanation at her confused friend: 'The blood. On your hands.' As she looked down at her hands, Abby's eyes widened in realization. She knew she could be quite scary sometimes without actually trying or wanting to be, but that was just bad luck...

With a sigh, Laura turned back to Will. This hadn't even remotely gone as planned... She couldn't even enjoy getting to hug him, she was way too worried.

"Shh... it's okay... I'm here...", she whispered softly, keeping up a constant stream of soothing reassurances, trying to calm Will back down. She really hoped that this didn't leave him completely terrified of her friend...

Slowly, silently, Abby rose to her feet and padded out of the room, cursing herself soundly once out of earshot.

While she angrily washed the blood from her hands, she only hoped Laura was able to sooth Will.

She had a lot of faith in her friend's ability to comfort, and only wished she could do the same.

Meanwhile, Will had stayed clinging to Laura, though his shaking had lessened to the occasional violent tremor, and was not sobbing harshly any more.

Finally he spoke, declining to raise his tear-streaked face and instead whimper into Laura's chest: "Why are you being so nice to me?"

"I have no reason to hurt you.", Laura explained carefully after a moment of thought. "I know you've been hurt without reason before, but I'm not like that, and you certainly did not deserve any of it." She smiled down at him, patting his head softly. (She had to suppress a squee at the fluffiness of his hair...)

"B-but..." His voice trembled a he peeked up at her. It was too adorable...

"Aww...", she cooed softly. "You're so cute..."

With a strangled squeak, Will hid his face against her chest again, but not before she caught a glimpse of a blush beginning to spread.

'Um... I didn't mean to let THAT slip...', she thought to herself, slightly embarrassed.

She almost didn't catch the whispered "Th-thank y-you..."

Her smile widening, she replied: "You're welcome. Are you feeling better now?"

His head wobbled against her in a nod, but he didn't speak again.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Abby stared at her reflection in the mirror, eyes narrowed and mouth in a scowl.

Slowly, she looked from the picture of Dipper and Mabel Gleeful back to herself.

 _We may as well be triplets._ She realized dimly, she looked so similar.

She suppressed a shudder and put the picture back into the dresser drawer.

She just _had_ to change her physical appearance, so that Will could get to know how she really was, not what she looked like.

For starters, she had to get rid of the eye color.

That was easy; she had yellow glow-in-the-dark cat eye contacts, and without a second thought she slipped those in place, blinking gratefully at her reflection.

She preferred wearing them actually; she just didn't want to creep people out all the time.

Now her hair- far more problematic.

She never wanted to die or cut her hair, but what else could she do with it?

Technically she could wear one of her wigs too, but that would be over-doing it she thought.

Suddenly the answer came, and she smacked her forehead into the mirror, spreading the cracks that were already in that part some more from the impact.

Just put it in a bun!

Smiling weakly with relief, she did so, then tiptoed out to see how Laura and Will were getting along.

When she peeked in the doorway, she suppressed a squeal of delight: Will was snuggled in Laura's arms, blushing slightly.

The moment was broken when Will looked right at her, and tensed right back up.

Cursing again, Abby withdrew and stalked back several paces.

At least he hadn't screamed or anything, Abby just hoped Laura could calm him further.

To be honest, Abby was jealous already that her friend got to cuddle the blue demon and she couldn't.

Then anther idea hit her, and she wasted no time implementing it; simultaneously Laura also decided on a course of action: showing Will his room.

As Will tensed up again, her first thought was 'I need to distract him from it somehow...' And what better way to do that than show him the surprise they had prepared for him?

"Will?", she asked quietly, trying not to startle him. When he looked up at her, still blushing a bit, she added gently: "There is something I'd like to show you... if you want?" She was very careful to make sure that she didn't pressure him into anything.

Will seemed a bit unsure for a moment, he was apparently pretty comfortable where he was, but in the end, curiosity won out. He'd already started to trust Laura.

Laura smiled at him happily, before gently tugging him to his feet and towards the door.

Before she went through the door, she started to explain things to him, so he wouldn't get too nervous.

"It's just a few meters down the hallway, and I promise you, it's not going to be scary." She smiled at him again, then opened the door carefully.

Will peeked through, seeming insecure, and she didn't pressure him. There was nothing scary about the hallway though. It was brightly lit and and warm, very different from what he'd known before. Still, he let her go first, staying a bit wary.

They reached the door shortly afterwards, and Laura almost couldn't contain her excitement. She couldn't wait to see his reaction to having his own room...

She opened the door, turning to Will to catch his reaction, not wanting to miss even a second.

There was a sharp intake of breath from the demon, his wide blue eye growing even wider as he laid a shaky hand on his chest and, as if in a trance, slowly stepped past Laura and into the room, turning his head this way and that, mouth slightly open.

When he turned back to Laura, there were tears trickling down his cheek.

"T-this, a-a-all, for m-mme?" he stuttered, swallowing hard as he gazed at her.

At her nod, he burst into tears and sank to the floor, the biggest, brightest smile on his face as he whisper-sobbed, "Thank you, oh thank you!" over and over.

And Will wasn't the only one smiling widely. It made her happy beyond belief, seeing him like that. Sure, he was crying again, but he was crying in happiness! Those were the only tears she wanted to see on his face ever again.

"You're so very welcome...", she said softly, entering the room as well and sitting down next to him. "Abby and I made this room just for you."

Will was way too occupied being happy to even react to Abby's name, something Laura had counted on. It would be good for him to be able to connect Abby to something that made him this happy...

"Come on...", she held her hand out to him invitingly. "Do you want to take a closer look at your new things?" She smiled warmly at the little demon.

Will reached up and squeezed her hand. "Yes please." He whispered.

As he got to his feet again, he wiped his tears and spoke again.

He had such an adorably soft voice.

" This, this is the n-nicest t-thing anyone has ever done for me. " he sniffled and looked at her shyly. "May I hug you again Miss Laura?"

'Aww...' Laura squealed internally. Outwardly, she immediately replied: "Of course you can. Whenever you want. But, please, just call me Laura, okay?"

"O-okay...", Will stammered, nodding shyly, before he tentatively took a step towards her, snuggling against her. Laura's smile grew a bit wobbly, she felt warm and absolutely overwhelmed by the cuteness at the same time. Carefully, she wrapped her arms around him, content.

While all this cuteness was going on, Abby had not been idle.

She was rushing around in their kitchen, having found a quick recipe for small, soft, sweet cakes.

Will liked tea, and Abby was determined to make him a tea party of his very own.

Of course it was blueberry tea, with Will what else could you expect?

Abby was secretly hoping Will would do dome of the cooking, not that she or Laura couldn't cook, they could of course, it was just that, well, Abby was absent minded and easily distracted, causing more then one dinner to turn into charcoal.

As of now, the cakes were nearly done baking, the tea was almost fully steeped, and the table was set with their best China (they never used it much with Abby being an extreme klutch), a white silk and lace tablecloth, and red candles.

And where was Abby?

Outside, setting up a magic barrier to protect Will from any summons while in their house.

When they went out, Abby would have to hold back any incoming magic as she knew the Gleefuls would do their best to get their family slave back.

Keeping the barriers up took a lot of energy, and, even though it made her rather guilty, Abby had to drain energy from other living beings to complete it.

THEN she remembered the cakes and tea, and nearly broke her leg trying to get back inside before they burned.

Thankfully, she got back in with a few seconds to spare.

Once she had the cakes on a platter and on the table with the tea, it was time to fetch the demon of honor and her German friend.

But right as she got there, she heard Laura asking Will if he'd like to examine his new things closer.

Peeking around the doorframe, her heart melted seeing the two in a warm embrace.

Keeping back, the older girl silently watched so as not to disturb them.

She wanted to see Will's inspection of his room for herself, not have to be content with Laura telling her later.

This hug didn't last as long as the last, since Will was quite curious about his new room.

The first thing he went to get a closer look at was, predictably, the bed with its fluffy blankets and cuddly pillows.

Meanwhile, Laura had spotted her friend in the doorway, and turned to smile at her, giving her a thumbs up. It was going really, really well at the moment. She couldn't keep her eyes away from Will for too long though, she didn't want to miss even a second of cuteness.

Turning back to Will, who was currently busy admiring the softness of the bed, she remembered something, a grin spreading over her face. She'd placed something on the table off to the side, something she went to get now.

Holding it behind her back, she went up to Will, then called out carefully: "Will? I've got something else for you..." When Will turned around in surprise, she smiled at him and...

plopped the flower crown right onto his head. It was a fake one that couldn't wilt, and it was blue. The very same one she'd once used for a cosplay.

Will simply stood there for a moment, stunned, then he reached up with one hand, carefully examining what was on his head.

"It's, it's so pretty." he breathed, looking into the mirror nearby. "Th-thank you. I feel like a prince again wearing this." Will sighed dreamily, then his eye lit up.

With another shy grin, he snapped his fingers and a matching crown appeared on Laura's head.

"Do you like it?" he asked hopefully. "Now we match."

"I love it!", she squealed, turning to look at herself in the room's mirror. Her flower crown wasn't blue, but a soft violet, which went well with her favorite shirt, the one she was wearing at the moment.

"Thank you, Will!" She smiled brightly at him.

"You're w-welcome...", he stammered, not used to gratitude being directed at him.

With a soft, fond laugh she changed the topic again, not wanting to embarrass him. She managed to direct his curiosity towards the rest of the room, watching happily as he explored.

Abby, still watching from the doorway, was loath to interrupt, but she knew the tea and cakes would become cold if she did not.

Not wishing to startle Will by her sudden appearance, she silently moved off down the hall, then let her footsteps fall normally as she re-approached the room.

Will whipped his head around when he heard her coming and barely stifled a whimper, glancing at Laura, who smiled at him.

Coming to stand close to her, Will watched the doorway warily.

Abby appeared soon after, and smiled warmly at Will, who finally took notice of her changed look.

"Y-your eyes!" he exclaimed in shock.

Abby nodded. "I'm sorry for scaring you earlier sweetie." She said. "I hope you'll like me better now."

A slight frown crossed Will's face as he looked a touch confused.

"And I have a surprise for you two!" Abby sang, her usual smile adorning her face. "Follow me!"

Chuckling softly, she led them to the dining room, and with a bow and a flourish, presented the table with the blueberry tea, white cakes and red candles.

Will's hands flew to his mouth and he quickly glanced between Abby and Laura.

"Is, is this a trick?" he asked nervously, edging back towards Laura again.

An annoyed look crossed Abby's face, and Will flinched slightly.

"No, no, I made it to welcome you." Abby exclaimed. "Please, have a seat." She drew out two chairs for them and motioned expectantly.

"Thank you, Abby!" Laura took the initiative, seeing that Will still seemed slightly wary, sitting down first and then pouring the tea for all three of them. She knew that Will would be more comfortable if she was the one to handle things.

Still a bit hesitant, Will sat down as well, and Abby, not wanting to be the only one still standing, settled down on her chair, too. The placement left her and Will furthest from each other, for now, at least as much as was possible at the small table.

Laura took a careful sip of her tea, then almost upended the sugar bowl into it. She liked her tea overly sweet.

Noticing the slightly uncomfortable silence, she finally said: "Please, Will, try the tea. It's blueberry, your favorite, isn't it?"

Giving Laura a slightly scared look, Will tenitivly picked up his cup and sipped the tea, seeming suspicious.

Abby watched him closely as she stirred in a few spoonfuls of sugar herself.

She also had a mouth full of sweet teeth.

Will set his cup down as he ran the tea around in his mouth before swallowing.

" If you want sugar you can have it." Abby pushed the sugar bowl towards him almost anxiously.

She wanted Will to enjoy this soooo bad it hurt.

Will looked from the bowl to Abby and quickly shook his head, eye bright with tears again.

Abby took another drink, biting down on the rim of her cup with frustration.

Will fiddled with his cup again, and looked longingly at the cakes.

" Go ahead and eat them, I made them just for you." Abby told him, smiling hopefully.

Will recoiled at her words.

Laura felt like face palming; it was painfully obvious Will suspected foul play here.

Laura took one and bit in, the soft white cake fairly melting in her mouth.

" Mmm, these are do good." She praised her friend's cooking, though Will looked horrified.

"Thanks." Abby said. " Those crowns look great on you two. Did you make that violet one Will? Its a perfect match for Laura! "

Will looked torn between suspicion and delight at the praise.

"Thank you." He said softly, taking another sip of tea. " The tea is very good, my favorite actually." He added, glancing at Laura.

"Thank you! I'm so glad you like it! I was hoping bit was your favorite!" Abby gushed, and promptly choked.

"Are you OK?" Laura asked in concern.

"Yeah." Abby coughed and quickly drank more tea.

Will took advantage of the distraction and had snatched a cake from the platter.

The expression on his face was priceless as he bit into the sweet softness.

Looking up, he offered a shy smile to Abby before nibbling at it some more and sipping at his tea.

He ate and drank so carefully it was killing the girls with cuteness watching him.

Laura felt relieved. Finally, finally, Will seemed to be able to let his guard down around Abby a bit, at least enough to be in the same room as her and even eat something she made without going crazy with fear.

She smiled at her friend without Will noticing, and almost forgot her cake over it, too. (Something that was quite rare with her.)

When the silence got too much again, she tried finding a conversation topic, so it wouldn't get awkward.

"Will, would you like to get some new clothes tomorrow? It's already getting a bit late now...", was more or less the only thing she managed to come up with on the fly, improvising wasn't really her strong suit.

Will looked startled. "N-new clothes?" He sputtered.

He glanced down at his current set of clothing and back up again, face alight with excitement.

"Yes please." He replied eagerly, then glanced at Abby.

"Please Will please say I can come too!' Abby shamelessly begged.

Will looked more startled then ever and nodded.

" Thank you Will. " Abby gave him her sweetest smile, but Will looked away quickly.

They finished the tea and once it was done, Will was shocked to learn neither of the girls would let him clear the table.

"Did you enjoy that?" Laura asked once Abby went out of right but could still hear.

"Yes." Will replied.

Then he shivered.

"I don't trust Abby." He mumbled to the floor.

" Its OK, take your time.' Laura coaxed gently

" Can I go to my room now? I'm tired " Will yawned cutely.

"Aw...", Laura cooed softly. "Of course you can, all this excitement tired you out, didn't it?"

When Will just nodded, she added: "If you need anything, my room is opposite yours, and Abby's room is next to mine, okay? Sleep well!"

"You, too...", Will answered with a shy smile, then left for his room.

Once he was out of earshot, she quietly called out to her friend, knowing that Abby was probably still listening in.

"Well, it went better than I'd feared, didn't it?", she asked, smiling slightly.

" Maybe for you, but I've been scarred for life!" Abby burst into tears. "Why oh why did I have to scare him so bad? Why wasn't I as welcoming as you? What if, what if he never trusts me! Maybe I should just leave, then I won't scare him any more." Abby began to sob, and used a silencing spell so the sensitive ears of the demon would not hear.

Laura felt for her friend. "Calm down, he just needs some time." She tried to reassure her.

" But what if he never does?" The distraught girl wailed.

"He will." Laura said firmly. " Now dry your tears and go to bed. You'll feel much better in the morning, and no hurting yourself tonight over this." Laura eyed her emotional friend sternly.

When she received no answer, she reminded Abby of something she forgot.

"Will will smell the blood if you hurt yourself, or burning flesh. Then he really will freak out."

Abby nodded and wiped her face. " I'm sorry." She whimpered. "I'm such a shitty person..."

"No you're not." Laura said firmly. "Enough of that now. Go to bed and see what tomorrow brings, OK?"

Abby nodded and waving goodnight to Laura, trudged off to her room.

Shaking her head and yawning herself, Laura headed to her own bed for some much needed sleep after the draining evening.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

As Will snuggled into the unbelievably softness of his new bed, he was struck with awe at what happened to him that evening.

He had been serving his Master and Mistress as usual, when he had been whirled away.

Now he was being treated kindly, as though he actually mattered, and he felt very overwhelmed and not a little bit afraid.

This was not the first time a human had been initially kind to him, but it never lasted.

But the raw honesty of these two girls was astounding.

He truly wanted to believe they meant him no harm, but millennia of surviving what his older and more powerful twin brother Bill left behind had taught him to be cautious.

The younger girl though he was drawn to.

She was quieter, calmer, and her mind was clearer then the other girl's was.

The other girl had an aurora of pain and deep sadness verging on bitter anger, and reeked if blood and magic.

Will liked Laura, but not so much her friend.

Several tears of joy slid out if his eye as he relaxed on the pillow.

He cried himself to sleep out of pure overwhelmed comfort.

The good feelings didn't last long as Will dreamed he was back with the Gleefuls, and being punished for being summoned out and not returning.

Will began screaming and begging in his sleep, the heartbreaking cries waking both girls.

By reasons of bad luck, Abby arrived first, shaking the bawling demon awake.

The next thing she knew, she was slammed into the ceiling as he reacted in fright.

As Will focused, he saw the glowing yellow irises and called for Bill.

"I'm not Bill." Abby wheezed, as Will had her pinned by her throat.

Will dropped her in horror right as Laura stumbled inside.

For a moment, none of them moved, then...

"What the-!", Laura stammered, racing to her friend's side. "Abby! Are you okay?" She knew she had to take care of Abby first, as calming down Will would likely take quite a bit of time, and if Abby was actually injured, it wouldn't be a good idea to wait.

Meanwhile, Will was just sitting there, wide-eyed in fear, appearing frozen if not for the slight trembling.

Abby glared at the floor, gasping slightly.

"I'm fine." She spat. "I'm not glass; go take care of Will."

She glanced up at her friend and smiled slightly, letting her know the hard edge to her voice was not directed at her.

Her throat was already bruising, but she was right; she was not glass and after all, it had only been about a 12-foot drop anyway.

"If you're sure...", Laura said. She wasn't all that sure, but Abby was right, Will was more important, now that she knew her friend wasn't seriously hurt.

Careful, trying not to trigger Will, she walked towards the bed, slowly, to be non-threatening.

"Hey... Will...", she whispered softly.

Will jumped and cowered back, shaking his head and whimpering loudly.

" I-I didn't mean it, I'm sorry!" He cried, shaking in terror. "Please!" He drew his knees up to his chin and covered his face with his arms, body tensed, expecting to be struck.

Laura felt like crying. It had all been going so well up to now (with a few understandable hiccups)... But she suppressed it, now was really not the time.

She stopped coming closer, saying gently: "Shh... I would never hurt you... it's okay... please, calm down..." It broke her heart, seeing Will so terrified of her...

Will peeked from between his arms at the sound of her voice.

She sounded so gentle, so concerned, so caring…so sad.

Reaching out with his mind, he carefully evaluated her feelings and was shocked to find no malice there.

Her heart was pure; she only wanted him to feel safe and secure, and it was hurting her to see him, as she supposed, terrified of her.

It really wasn't her that terrified him though; it was all the hundreds of mortals that had beaten him for far less offense then strangling and dropping their friend from the ceiling.

Completely lowering his arms, he was reminded how his spirit up above was that of a dove, and what he was about to do was very un-demon like.

Smiling softly through his rain of tears, he reached out to Laura and folded her in a hug, breathing deeply of her warm, feminine scent.

"I k-know you would n-never hurt me." He hiccupped quietly. "It's just the memories…its not you…ok?"

Now it was Laura's turn to get slightly red as she suppressed a squeal. He was so adorable!

She nodded, squeezing him softly.

"Okay..." Her voice wobbled a bit, the scare and stress getting to her.

" Shhh...' Will took the cue and rubbed her back, willing the tears away.

He felt bad that he had caused this sweet girl such stress.

Softly, he began to sing a lullaby he often had sent an overwhelmed Bill to sleep with.

It always calmed him down, so Will was certain it'd work on Laura as well.

His eye glowed protectively as the other girl finally picked her self up and looked at the two.

Silently, he bared his fangs at her, warning her off from his moment.

Nodding, Abby limped out if the room, the soft voice of the gentle yet protective demon covering the sound of her exit.

When the song ended, Will pulled back slightly to smile once more at the kind human who cared for him.

" I'm sorry my nightmare disturbed you." Will spoke softly. " I assure you, it won't happen again"

Laura finally relaxed into the hug, yawning. It was warm, and he was so soft, fluffy and cuddly in the pyjama they'd gotten for him...

She was already halfway to sleep, lulled in by the little song Will had sung, but she replied anyways, though it was mumbled: "I know... -yawn- Thank you..." With that, she drifted off completely.

"Thank you, too...", Will whispered into the silence of his new room, her presence chasing the last remnants of his nightmare away. There wouldn't be any more bad dreams this night.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Early the next morning, say around five am, Abby woke to her alarm playing her wake-up song, 'LA Devote'.

She may have been an early bird, but a reluctant one, and that song always got her up and going no matter the time or circumstance.

Groaning as she got out of bed and stumbled across the room to turn it off, she stretched and rubbed sore joints and new bruises.

She was thankful she and Laura were very fit and active, doing things like Parkour, Gymnastics, Martial Arts, and Ballet, and knew how to catch themselves when falling, but last night had been so unfair!

She was half-asleep, stressed, and choking.

So she felt confident in her excuse on why she had not landed as well as she could have.

Wondering how calming Will went, she headed out of her room and was going to head into Laura's when she noticed her room door was open.

A sudden thought struck her, and she backpedaled into her room to grab her much-used camera.

Sure enough, when she had padded silently up to the doorway and stuck just her head around the frame, there they were, asleep together.

Will had his thin arms wrapped around Laura, their violet and blue pjs going nice together.

His chin was nestled on top of her head, and wisps of her soft brown hair floated around his now-peaceful face every time he breathed.

Laura, for her part, had her head part on his chest and part on his shoulder, and she had her arms around him as well.

Abby suppressed a coo and only took about 2,000+ photos from every conceivable angle, stopping only when she ran out of room on the already partly filled camera card.

She didn't wish to wake them yet, so she tiptoed out and took her shower, laughing when she realized the three of them were already color coated: Laura seemed to prefer violet, Will blue, and herself orange.

As soon as she was dressed, she hurried back to the bedrooms to see if they were already up.

Even before she got to the door, she could tell the two sleepers were not yet awake.

With a resigned sigh, she committed to waking them up.

" GOOD MORNING GOOD MORNING HOW ARE YOU GOOD MORNING! TIME TO GET UP SLEEPY HEADS GET OUT OF BED GET OUT OF BED! TIME TO GET UP SLEEYHEADS GET OUT OF BED IN THE MORNING!" She sang at the top of her lungs, just like her dad used to do to her and her brothers when they were little.

Will gave a little shriek and jumped at the first syllable of sound, but had settled to a faintly confused look by the time the song had finished.

Laura was already used to her friend's unique wake up call, so she simply rolled over, only half awake, dragging Will down again, too. She really, really wasn't an early bird, and it was a free day, too.

"Let me sleep...", she mumbled into the covers that had somehow ended up on top of her during the night, and when there was no sign of Abby leaving, she added something that sounded decidedly unfriendly in German (but was just a request to leave her in peace, German simply sounded hard to those who weren't native speakers sometimes).

Abby grinned at the grumbles.

After Will got over his initial fright, then was startled one more by Laura dragging him back onto the bed, he sighed internally.

All his life he had been ban early riser, and the idea of staying late in bed was foreign to him.

However, he was not about to disturb Laura, but Abby, wanting some company in the mornings, wasn't about to let him stay unwillingly in the warm bed.

She also knew that Will would not want to be alone in the house with her while Laura slept.

"Tickle her." She mouthed at Will, whose eye widened.

Abby silently apologized to Laura as she winked at Will.

Slowly, a mischievous look crossed his face, and smirking, he freed his arms from Laura and placed his nimble fingers on her ribs.

Then he began tickling mercilessly.

Laura squealed and started flailing immediately, all tiredness forgotten.

"Ah-haha... Hey! S-stop it... hahaha-help! Abby!" Her pleas were only barely audible over her laughter, well, that is, until she managed to squirm away from Will. "I'm awake!"

She had managed to catch Will's hands in hers, and now sat up, turning towards him fully.

"I wonder... I wonder if demons are ticklish, too...", she drawled, smiling widely at him to show him that she really wasn't angry (her sleep-mussed hair only aided that nonthreatening look). It would all be in good fun.

Then, without further warning, she started tickling him, though not nearly as aggressive as she could have.

Will shrieked with laughter, trying to twist away from her while literally convulsing with laughter.

"Yes!" he shouted as best he could as he gasped for breath around his giggles. "D-demons ARE ticklish!" he kept squealing and shrieking as he laughed so hard tears rolled down his cheeks.

He finally rolled away from her but couldn't stop laughing for almost a minute after.

When he looked back at Laura, his eyes was shining.

"That was fun." he lets out another giggles.

Laura looked around to glare at her friend, but noticed she suddenly was nowhere to be seen.

"How did you know I was ticklish?" she asked Will, noticing that his own rumpled hair made him look 1000x cuter then normal, along with his dimpled smile and shining eye.

"A little bird told me." Will teased.

"That would be Abby." Laura grinned. "She's extremely ticklish, pretty much everywhere."

Will looked a little surprised, and asked, "Are all you human ticklish?" after all, every human he'd met was ticklish.

Laura shook her head. "Not all of us, but most of us are. What about demons?"

Will looked a little sad. "Most of them aren't ticklish." he informed her.

Then his eye lit up again. "But Bill is-very. Even worse then I am. We've had some good tickle fights throughout the millennia." he giggled at the memories.

Then his stomach rumbled, startling him a little.

He grinned sheepishly. "I guess I forgot I was hungry." he remarked, running his fingers through his fluffed hair.

"Well, then..." Laura stretched and stood up with a smile at his adorableness. "How about some breakfast? I'll get my tickle-revenge on Abby later..."

Will looked torn between giggling and wary at that thought, so she immediately added: "By the way, what do you like the most for breakfast? I like just about everything sweet, but I usually eat only a bread roll or bagel with jam or nutella..." Her honest curiosity distracted him pretty well, as he immediately began thinking about it. It had apparently been a while since he'd been asked about his preferences regarding something as simple and normal as food...

"Well," Will said after several moments of hard thinking. "Our natural diet is not fit for human ears to hear. And I just don't know what I like best; I usually just eat whatever I'm given if and when I'm given it. Immortal beings can't starve to death, so its not like I've m-much practice eating human food through my l-life." he fidgeted. "I'll just eat whatever you do I think." he took a deep breath, trusting his new friend not to be angry at all for his not knowing.

"I think you're going to like the sweet breakfast I usually have.", Laura said after a moment of thought. "And you can try out whatever you want."

Before Will could even answer, she got an idea: "You know, if you like blueberry tea... There should still be some blueberry bagels in the kitchen... Those are really good. Come on!" With a smile, she extended a hand to Will, who took it without hesitation, and pulled him up.

Still smiling, she led him towards the kitchen, looking forward to him trying out the sweet bagels.

As they entered the brightly lit kitchen, the smell of over easy eggs and bacon greeted their noses.

Abby sat grinning at the table, several eggs, a mound if bacon and several doughnuts on her plate, complete with a large glass of foaming milk.

"Ohh, decided to get up now?" Abby teased, though she kept a wary eye on the pair.

"Thanks to you, I did.", Laura replied with a grin, turning to the cupboard where they kept the bread.

Thankfully, Abby had already set out plates for them, so she only had to get the bagels and some nutella and jam.

Will, meanwhile, sat down at the table.

Abby looked at Will with an eager grin. " Here buddy, wanna try one of the crème de LA crème of breakfasts? Other the baked oatmeal with chocolate and strawberries; I'll have to make that tonight so you can try it tomorrow. " as she talked she placed two steaming halves of toast dripping with the egg and several slices of bacon, and a fork.

Will watched how Abby ate it, and copied.

He was very hungry, so he figured he could eat both girl's kind of breakfasts.

"Salty." He commented after the first mouthful.

"Sorry." Abby replied with a wink. "I'm a salt addict."

Will could tell behind the flippant grin she was dead serious, so he glanced towards Laura, hoping she could rescue him from further conversation with the other girl.

That, and he really wanted to try blueberry bagels.

Smiling at him, Laura placed her choice of breakfast on the table, turning to Abby.

"You know, I enjoy salty food, too, but too much isn't a good idea... especially not for breakfast." With the way she said it, and the way Abby just rolled her eyes instead of answering, Will figured it had to be a common discussion between the two girls.

Therefore, instead of commenting on it, he took half of a bagel and put some of the nutella onto it. He was curious about how it would taste, so he took a quick bite, only to be overwhelmed by the sweetness. After the salt, it was almost too much, but at the second bite, it was already much better.

"This is really good." Will commented, and Laura could see Abby really biting her tongue to keep from commenting.

Will also glanced at Abby, eye full of worry.

" Your food was good too." He nervously added, hastily taking some more eggs and toast.

"Hey, you can like what you want, it's all good here. If you like her food better then that's great! What ever makes you happy. I have weird tastes anyway." Abby laughed.

Will still looked jittery though, and when Laura sat beside her friend across from Will, Abby dug her fingers into Laura's leg, obviously frustrated.

Will seen the slight movement, and shrank just a little.

Abby abruptly stood and announced she had a call to make and stalked out of the room.

Will looked sadly at Laura. " I tried to make her happy." He whispered. "But she makes me so nervous and then she gets upset. " Will hung his head. "She's so unstable, I wish I found it as easy to trust her as I did you. Maybe then she'd be less unhappy." He looked up at Laura with watery eye. "Can you tell her I'm trying and I appreciate what she did with her eyes and hair? Please?"

"Of course." She smiled at him softly. "Don't worry, it'll work out... I'll tell her after breakfast."

"Thank you..." Will's voice wobbled slightly, but he didn't start crying. Probably trying to distract himself, he took another bite of bagel.

"You're welcome.", Laura replied gently. She really wished it was easier, too, but she also understood why it wasn't, and therefore did her best to hide it.

The rest of the breakfast passed in silence, though there was nothing awkward about it. Abby didn't come back.

"I think we should leave the rest of her breakfast on the table, she didn't finish eating yet.", Laura said as she rose to put everything away. Will simply nodded, and together (though Will tried to do most of it, which Laura wouldn't let him) they finished very quickly.

"I'll go look for Abby now...", Laura said afterwards. "Maybe you could go and get ready for our shopping trip today?" She kept her voice light, phrasing it as a suggestion.

Will nodded, and hurried off.

He was excited; he had always wanted to go on a shopping trip for him, and now he was finally able to!

Luckily, he found the shower quickly enough and with great relief was able to strip himself of his clothes for the first time in centuries.

The chains always stopped him before.

Of course, he could have used magic and been all ready instantly, but Will liked doing things the human way better.

Humming happily, he turned the water on and tested it, then stepped inside, groaning with appreciation of the hot water washing over his sore body.

It was so soothing, and the feeling of it running through his thick blue hair was exquisite.

He could have stood there all day, but he didn't want to keep Laura waiting.

Abby too, he supposed, but he'd rather leave her behind.

He'd like to enjoy this trip, not be constantly on edge, wondering what the unpredictable one of the household was going to do next.

Will wondered what he'd look like in something other then his usual blue suit, and was excited to find out.

He also wondered if he'd be allowed to get some books, as he loved to read.

Or some drawing materials; he could draw pictures of his home for Laura to see.

Or maybe that wouldn't ne such a good idea, he mused.

Maybe paintings of the many places he'd been in his long, never ending life.

Yes, that's what he'd draw!

Smiling to himself, Will soaped up and continued his shower, feeling calm and at peace.

Meanwhile...

Laura didn't really know where to look for her friend, but when she didn't find her anywhere inside, she knew where to go. She threw on a coat over her pajamas, put on some shoes and left the house through the back door. When Abby was really upset, she would sometimes go outside and into the woods to calm herself down.

And sure, there she was, throwing some small rocks at the trees...

"Abby?", Laura called out. "Will is getting ready for our shopping trip, come back in!" Her voice was cheerful, she was really looking forward to it (though she didn't usually like shopping all that much).

Abby jumped and spun around, startled. "Whew!" She gasped. "There for a moment I thought I was under some form of attack." She laughed nervously.

Her paranoia embarrassed her greatly.

"Well, best not to keep him waiting. Will you be driving or shall I?" She asked as she walked towards her friend, an eyebrow raised in question and a half smile on her lips. "And you might want to get ready yourself unless you want to go out in pj's. "

"Could you drive?", Laura asked, and then her friend's question registered in her mind. Looking down at herself, she added: "Huh... yeah, I probably should get ready..." Abby laughed at the slightly blank look she had on her face.

Both of them turned back to the house, while Laura already started thinking about what she'd wear.

"Sure I'll drive. I suppose you and Will will sit in the back, or do you think he'll sit by himself back there?" Abby asked as they walked.

Shaken out of her thoughts, Laura took a moment to answer, before declaring with a grin: "I want to sit next to Will, okay?"

Abby chuckled. "I saw that coming! Before long you'll forget all about me..." She winked and elbowed her friend so Laura would know she was joking. " I'll wait on the porch until you two are ready to go." So saying, she turned and walked in the said direction.

Now it was Laura's turn to laugh as she called out: "Okay, I'll hurry. Wouldn't want to keep you waiting!" A moment later, she had disappeared into the house.

Inside, she ran into her room, getting ready in record time. Only a short time later, she came out again, dressed in her usual jeans and t-shirt (violet, of course), her hair still slightly damp. She didn't worry though, it was early summer and would get warm during the day (though it wasn't at the moment, it was still quite early).

She knocked at the door to Will's room, asking: "Will? Can I come in?"

" Um, yes. " Will's voice sounded muffled, and when Laura entered she saw why.

Poor Will was trying to brush his thick fluffy hair, and currently was hiding his face in his hands, whining in frustration, the brush stuck at an odd angle in his hair, and the pack of pink hair ribbons lying open on the desk.

The cape that attached to his suit was crooked as well, and his shoes were on the wrong feet.

Will peeked at her through his fingers.

"I need help." He whispered.

In a way, he reminded Laura of how she'd helped the boys in her theater group at school get ready for the plays. It certainly helped her suppress a laugh now.

"Aw... Of course I'll help. Let's see...", she trailed off, coming to stand behind him and geting a look at what needed to be done.

The cape was rightened easily, even with him still sitting there. The hair, though, proved to be much more difficult... the brush was well and truly stuck.

In an attempt to distract him from her freeing the hairbrush, which she knew wouldn't go over without a little bit of pain, she asked fondly: "You haven't had much practice yet, hm?"

Will shook his head and whimpered softly. " N-noo." He whined again softly. "They never let me clean myself." He shuddered slightly, the added, " My feet hurt." And looked up at her, making a puppy eyed face. "Fix that next please?" He seemed to know his hair was going to get pulled, by the way he flinched when she touched the brush handle.

With a soft smile (and an internal squee about his adorableness), she said: "Okay, I'll help you with the shoes first." She let go of the brush, then added: "But afterwards, I have to take the brush out of your hair, okay? It's rather tangled, but I'll be as gentle as possible, I promise..."

Will nodded, but his shoulders slumped.

He picked both feet off the ground and held them out to her, watching so he might learn which was the correct way for next time, biting his lip with concentration and worry.

At least he had them tied right, so she didn't have to teach him how to tie his shoes at least.

With a gentle, reassuring smile, she untied the shoes and slipped them off his feet before holding the one he'd had on his right foot up.

"This is a left shoe", she explained patiently, the held the other one up. "and this is a right shoe. You see the difference?" When Will just nodded, apparently embarrassed, she didn't pursue the matter further and instead helped him put the shoes on correctly.

While doing so, she got an idea.

"I just remembered, I have something that could help with your hair!"

Will's eye lit up.

"Really?" He asked breathlessly. "What is it?"

"Wait here, it's better if I show you..."

Before Will could answer, she raced off, only to return mere seconds later with a bottle that looked like it contained some sort of hair spray.

"It's a detangling spray!", she declared with a grin. "My mother used to use it when I was small. It's best if the hair's still wet, but works on dry hair, too. Makes it hurt a lot less. I still use it."

" I can get my hair wet again." Will replied hopefully.

"It would probably be a good idea, but be careful not to tangle it any more, please. Drying it shouldn't take too long afterwards...", Laura said after a moment of thought.

Will dashed off immediately, only to return seconds later with a fluffy blue towel around his shoulders and his hair dripping wet. Laura had to suppress a laugh as he sat down again. 'It doesn't need to be THAT wet!', she thought to herself amusedly, taking the towel and drying his hair to the point where it was only slightly more than damp. She then put the towel back and applied a good amount of spray.

Really, she enjoyed fussing over him.

"Now, I'm going to try to untangle the hairbrush, okay?", she warned Will, before immediately doing as she said. As careful as she was, it took her some time, but there was surprisingly little pain. "There we go..." She smiled, handing the brush to Will. "Do you want me to help drying your hair? It'd probably end up tangled again otherwise..."

Will turned and hugged her.

"Thank you.' He said gratefully. " I was so afraid it'd hurt. Please do dry it for me and thank you." He beamed up at her then released her from the hug.

"You're welcome.", she replied, her voice softening even more.

Still smiling, she took the brush and the hairdryer and began. Thankfully, it really didn't take all that long, since he had short hair, which was already near dry.

Therefore, it was only a few minutes later that they left the house, finding Abby where she said she would be.

Abby was almost asleep, but she leapt to her feet as soon as she heard them.

"Bout time." She teased with a laugh. "What'd ya do, get lost?" Her grin faded at Will's ashamed look and she quickly changed the subject.

"Never mind, just get in the car. Will's got shopping to do!" She sang as she skipped to the car and swung into the driver's seat.

"Do you want to sit in the back with me?", Laura asked Will kindly, and when he just nodded, she held the door open for him, slipping into the car last. "And off we go!", she exclaimed enthusiastically, grinning at Will.

Will smiled back, and settled into his seat.

Abby flipped on some classical music, which had the effect of further relaxing Will.

She winked at Laura through the rear view mirror.

So far so good. She thought.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

By the time they had reached the mall, Abby had about gone crazy from listening to classical music (which bored her immensely, having nothing to sing along too) and Will was eagerly staring out the window, visibly excited.

But when they pulled into the parking lot, and Abby began the seemingly endless drive around and around and up and down the rows, seeking an empty space, his grin faded and he leaned a little closer to Laura.

Before she could ask him what was wrong, Abby found a spot, and jerked the car into it.

"We're he-ere!" she sang, turning off the car and grinning broadly into the rearview mirror at them.

Will, who had needed to be show how to put on a seatbelt, which had caused some anxiety for him because of the nature of the strap on restraint, now had to be shown how to release the buckle and open his door.

Once he stepped out, he gazed around in wonder before he shrank back a little, a gasp of nervousness escaping him as his sight landed upon the huge crowd of people swarming the place.

"Oh my." he whispered, his voice quivering slightly. "T-that's al-lot of p-people.: his hand snaked back and found Laura's, and he gripped her hand tightly.

Abby, who had a bad case of social anxiety herself, stepped close to the trembling demon and wrapped an arm around his thin shoulders, squeezing him gently before stepping back and releasing him as she smiled softly at Will.

"I know how you feel bud." she sympathized. "We won't let anyone touch you." she smiled warmly at him, but Will's eye was focused on Laura in worry, not on her.

Abby gritted her teeth and led the way, keeping a dome of protection around them to prevent the Gleefuls from using their own powerful magic to snatch Will back.

She almost hoped they would open a portal into the mall so that she could end their miserable reign of terror once and for all, somehow.

She vaguely wondered how Will would like Mason and Mabel as his slaves.

The thought made her grin viciously, and her eyes glowed with satisfaction, but a tap on her shoulder made her jump.

It was only Laura though, and Abby grinned sheepishly as she realized she was about to wander into the wrong door, so lost in her own thoughts was she.

Quickly, she bounded ahead and opened the glass doors, an excited Will clinging to Laura as they entered the enormous shopping center.

Abby fell into step behind them, glaring at all who dared give more then a quick glance at their small group.

Smiling, Laura gently tugged Will over to the floor plan showcasing the locations of the various shops and stores.

"Take a look. You get to decide where we will be going first.", she told him. Curious, Will came forward to look at it, though he did not let go of her hand.

For a moment, he studied the picture, before hesitantly admitting: "I... don't know most of these..." He seemed embarassed and insecure, which was about the opposite of what Laura had intended to happen.

"That's okay...", she said softly. "How about we instead just walk around and see if anything looks interesting?"

"I would like that..." Will nodded, and she smiled at him, before turning to Abby.

"You okay with that, too?", she asked her friend.

Abby nodded, eyes flickering around the area as she waited for them to start walking.

Will let Laura lead him and he walked just slightly behind her, clutching her hand as he gazed wide-eyed with wonder at everything around him.

"I've never actually been inside a mall before." he whispered softly to Laura. "Miss Mabel said I wasn't worth dragging along inside and that I'd probably drop everything I was supposed to carry, so she left me at home with Master Dipper."

"We can spend as much time here as you want, okay?", Laura said in response, trying to both encourage him and distract him from his bad memories at the same time.

Will simply nodded, very much overwhelmed by what he was seeing.

Slowly they strolled along, Will keeping close to Laura and Abby nearly walking on Laura's heels.

The German girl felt like a living security blanket, but she didn't mind.

Before long, they happened to walk near a toy store that had several large adorable stuffed animals in the front display.

Will gawked, a soft look stealing across his face and he partly turned towards the shop, but then sped up to pass it.

Laura felt Abby tap her shoulder and when she looked back at her friend, the yellow eyes were confused.

They both knew Will wanted to check out that shop, but he seemed to think he could only look at clothing.

However, neither girl wanted to push him, so they remained silent to see if he would actually pass it up or not.

There was a large fountain just ahead, and Will was already gazing at it with interest, so that's where they went, and sat down on the benches around it to watch the water.

Will and Abby sat on either side of Laura, Will leaning on her while the other girl kept a nervous eye on the crowds of people around them.

After just a few seconds, Laura suddenly started chuckling. Though she tried to suppress it, it caught both Will's and Abby's attention.

Noticing their questioning looks, she explained: "I just remembered something from my childhood... My family and I used to come to Florida every two years for a vacation, and we'd always go shopping in a mall at least once a week. My little brother and I loved the fountains, and we especially loved the fact that people threw coins into them. We used to look around for coins that had fallen to the sides of the fountains, collect them and compete. It was fun to see who'd find more money. Sure, it was only ever a few cents, but we were always rather competitive..." She trailed off, smiling fondly at the memories.

Finally noticing Will's curiosity and interest in her small story, she grinned, suggesting: "Want to have a look and see if there's any here?"

Will nodded. " It would be fun." He said shyly. " Are you going to look too?" He questioned Laura, seeming nervous about being more then a foot away from her.

"Yes, I think I will, too.", she replied. "Should be fun, doing it again..." She rose, pulling Will to his feet as well, then turned to look at Abby. "You'll help us search, right?", she added, after all, her idea had been meant to get them both a bit more comfortable.

Abby nodded as well, eyes already flicking towards the fountain.

Unlike Will, who was reassured by Laura, Abby had enough bad experiences around other people that she only felt safe around a dog or two.

Which was why when she had to go out it was either in small stores or in a costume, usually Bill, Will, her fursuit, Starscream, Jazz, or her oc MLP.

But she got up to play along anyway, though her chest was tight with fear of being noticed.

Will got on his knees and began searching around the fountain, eagerly feeling for the small coins.

Gingerly, still sore from the fall of last night, Abby also got on her knees and began searching.

Grinning, Laura sat down on the opposite side of the fountain, looking for coins in a few of the places she could still remember finding money in years ago. Mainly small crevices.

Will was the first to find something, a tiny, slightly rusted one-cent-coin. Happy, he ran around the fountain, presenting it to Laura with a wide smile on his face.

Almost fully mirroring his smile, she said: "Great! You're ahead of us now!"

"I'd better step up my game!" They heard Abby exclaim from the other side. "Congratulations Will. It's a rare day someone beats Laura or I at a seek and find game."

Will blushed and grinned happily as he scurried back to his side to resume the search.

Shortly thereafter first Laura then Abby found a penny each, and Will found a dime and a quarter.

Laura wondered to herself why Will seemed to have a lot more coins them either herself or her friend when she spotted Abby moving coins from her side to where Will was.

She smiled and didn't let on that she seen.

It was not much longer, soon after Will had shown her he found another quarter and resumed the search, that she heard a girlish squeal.

" Oh look, a Will!"

Laura went cold right before static sparked in the air around her.

Glancing down at herself even as she dashed around to where Will was crouched, she saw she was now a Dipper.

But neither girl owned a Dipper suit.

When Abby raced over, dressed as Bill, and hauled Will to his feet, making him wince in pain from her unusually strong grip, she felt the clothes and realized it was nothing but an illusion.

A small group of teenage girls and their boyfriends swarmed over, all talking at once.

" Oh I just love you Will! " a girl pinched his cheeks, Abby lightly shoving her back, grinning.

" Hands off my twin and Pinetree." She jokingly growled as a guy tried to hug Laura.

" Oh we're all just such huge fans of you guys!" Another girl chimed in.

"Aww thanks guys." Laura said, trying to imitate Dipper's voice as best she could.

Will, for his part, was holding up surprisingly well, though his face was a deathly pale, and he was ramrod stiff.

Abby kept her fingers tightly entwined with Will's, crushing his hand in her grip.

"It was really nice meeting you all, but we're kinda in a rush." Laura said, and the group wandered away, waving goodbye and blowing kisses at all three of them.

Once the teens were out of sight, Abby dropped Will's hand and the illusion vanished.

Will recoiled from her like he'd been shot, shaking his hand, but staying silent.

"What was that?" Laura demanded, stroking Will's hair, having a feeling there was an invisibility dome around them if the sweat pouring from her friend's face was any indicator.

"I had to do something!" Abby all but whined. " I'm not strong enough on my own to hold everything together like that. The security cameras will only be out for another few minutes so we need to get back where we were. "

"Still, taking Will's powers like that? Even I can't believe you'd do something like that! I've seen you use energy from other people before; you only chose Will because it was easy!" Laura accused.

Normally Laura was more even-tempered, but that in her mind was uncalled for, using Will like that when they had just rescued him from the very same treatment!

Abby muttered under her breath and wouldn't look at Laura, shifting unhappily.

"You make a good Bill." Will spoke suddenly, hating the fight unfolding before him.

Abby looked up at him, her fingers rubbing her forehead and gave him a tired smile.

"Thanks Will." She coughed. " Sorry for er, using you. I only did it to protect you." She gazed at him regretfully, and he gave her a forgiving smile, which perked the girl right up and relaxed Laura a bit as well.

"And sorry Laura, bout the Dipper thing? It just made sense ya know, the demons and Pinetree?" She gazed hopefully at her friend.

Laura just grinned and shook her head. "Its fine." She said, and Abby let out her breath with relief.

They resumed kneeling by the fountain, but got up once a few seconds went by.

"That was scary." Will admitted. "Thanks for protecting me, both of you."

Abby grinned and gave a slight bow while Laura hugged the shy demon.

"Can we go back to shopping now?" Will surprised them by asking.

"Of course." Laura replied, and once more they set off.

"The sooner the better." Abby hissed. " More people are looking our way and pointing. "

Thinking quickly, Laura ducked then into the nearest shop so as to let the groups if fans disperse.

To Abby's delight, it was a pet store, and Laura knew she was doomed as both Will and Abby bounded towards the puppies, bunnies, and kittens.

Not that she minded all that much, actually, but she didn't look forward to not only tearing herself away from the adorable sight but also convincing them to continue on with the shopping trip...

With a sigh and a smile, she followed them over to the baby animals, reaching in to pet one of the kittens. Her eyes, however, rested more on Will, who was trying to pet multiple little balls of fur at once.

They spent quite some time in the pet shop. After the scare from before, it was calming. Besides, who could resist cute baby animals?

When about a quarter of an hour had passed, Laura finally spoke up: "I think we should continue. We can come back here once we're done shopping, okay?"

"OK." Abby said, giving a puppy one last kiss.

Will hugged a bunny to his chest and reluctantly put him down.

"I'll come back for you." Will promised the bunny, and Abby sent Laura a sly look.

"And I'll be back for you my sweets." She murmured into the puppy's soft fur.

"Seriously?" Laura said quietly, rolling her eyes at her smirking friend.

"If Will can, so can I." Abby teased.

Ignoring the point that she favored Will, for obvious reasons, she turned for the door, patting her favorite kitten good bye.

"Come on you two, clothing doesn't buy itself." She coaxed, and the other two followed, casting longing looks behind them.

Will seemed more confident now, and eagerly towed Laura behind him as he perused the shop fronts, stopping when he found one that sold tennis shoes.

Leaning close to Laura's ear, he whispered shyly, "These shoes weren't created for much walking in. My feet hurt." He looked up at her imploringly, his baby blue eye shining as he tilted his head slightly.

Laura nodded decisively, proclaiming: "Good idea! We'll be walking quite a lot today. Do you already have an idea what you'd like?"

When Will shook his head, it was Abby who suggested they simply go inside and look around, instead of making plans (something she knew her German friend would often do if they let her).

Will readily agreed, and Laura ended up just following along, but not before turning to her friend and whispering: "This is already so much more fun than shopping with my family for clothes ever was..."

Abby nodded as she leaned in to whisper back, " Mine too! I was always bored with my family until I learned the joy of reading shirts. "

Will had stopped just inside and was looking around.

Looking to Laura, he asked, " What are good walking shoes?"

Laura steered him to the tennis shoes.

"Aw, these shoes are cute!" Will cooed, and Abby hide her face in her hands to hide her attempt to smother laughter.

"You know," Abby choked, and Will look at her weirdly. "We need to measure his feet." She turned away, coughing desperately.

Laura rolled her eyes at her hopeless friend, then turned to a suddenly nervous Will.

Before she was able to speak, he backed into the shelf. " H-how do you do that?" He stuttered, sliding to the floor and grabbing his feet, looking up at her with fear on his face but trust in his eye.

With a soft smile, Laura kneeled down, bringing herself to the same height as him, saying: "Shh, no need to be scared, it doesn't hurt, I promise..." After a short pause, seeing that Will still remained slightly wary, she then added: "I could show you and do it first, if you want?"

"Y-yes... please...", Will replied in a whisper, nodding.

"Okay, I'll be right back.", she told him, and stood, only for Abby to hold out a measuring scala towards her.

"I already found one.", Abby told her friend quietly.

"Thanks." Laura grinned and sat back down again, pulling one of her shoes off before placing her foot on the scala. Turning to Will, she explained: "You simply need to place your foot onto it, and then you can see the size you need. My right foot is slightly longer than my left, so I usually use that one. Look. Can you tell what size I'd need?"

Biting his lip nervously, Will leaned over and ran a shaky finger along the scala.

He jerked away once, a static shock stinging his finger, but when Laura gave no response he touched it once more.

Running his finger up the line of numbers, he soon stopped at the right one and looked up at Laura, a slight eagerness blooming across his face as he waited to hear if he'd done it right.

Smiling warmly at him, she said: "Exactly! Do you want to try measuring your feet now?" She held the scala out to him, waiting patiently.

The rest of his fear disappearing, Will took it eagerly, holding it to his right foot the way he had seen Laura do it.

Meanwhile, Laura slipped on her shoe again. They weren't here so she could try shoes on, after all.

Running his finger up the row of numbers, Will stopped when he reached his toes.

"Six." He announced proudly, beaming up at Laura.

"Good. Now, we can look around for shoes you might like...", Laura trailed off, standing up and pulling Will to his feet as well. "You don't need to put on your shoe again, it's easier since you probably want to try on quite a few pairs, okay?"

"Okay." Will nodded, an excited smile on his face, then turned and began to look through the shoes.

Laura took a few steps back until she stood next to Abby and whispered: "Want to bet he'll end up with at least one blue pair?"

Abby chuckled. " I bet he will."

Silently the girls watched as Will would pick up a shoe, try it on, shake his head, and put it back.

After what seemed like an eternity, Will finally let out a squeal of satisfaction.

Abby, who had dozed off leaned against a shelf, jumped and nearly fell over at the sudden sound.

"Finally." She muttered under her breath, but Laura wasn't listening, already halfway to Will to see what he had settled on.

He had found a blue pair that had three white stripes on each side that ended in a smattering of white stars near the heels.

"Do you like them?" He asked shyly, holding them out for inspection.

"They're perfect!" Laura exclaimed, and Abby echoed her once she strode up.

Will nodded happily, then jumped as his stomach growled.

A slight look of nervousness passed across his face, only to be replaced by curiosity.

"I'm hungry." He announced, looking up at Laura closely to see her reaction.

Laura beamed at him. "So am I." She replied. "What do you say we eat at one of these mall restaurants?"

"Ohh, can we?" Will's eye got big.

"Of course we can, right after we pay for your shoes and you put them on." Abby announced, the mention of food making her hungry also.

Will handed his shoes to Laura and they walked to the front of the small store.

"Did you find everything you need?" the lady asked, blowing a kiss at Will, who squeaked and blushed, quickly hiding behind Laura.

"Yep, unless you sell food here I just didn't find." Abby joked with the lady who laughed.

"There you go." She said, handing the shoes back in a bag. "Bye Will." She giggled as Will peeked out at her. "Are you guys on YouTube or anything? You make a great Will!" she enthused.

"Uh, not yet." Abby chuckled nervously, taking Will's arm and hurriedly ushering him along as she stepped away. "We'll let you know when we do though. Have a great day bye!"

"Bye!" the lady called, cooing when Will reached for Laura's hand, slightly frightened by Abby half dragging him out.

Laura quickly caught up and took Will's hand, nudging Abby in the ribs so she let go of the trembling demon, giving Abby a half-hearted glare.

"Ergh!" Abby fumed as she let Laura take Will. "We gotta get him out of these clothes, dye his hair, or something! Can't do much about the demon pupil and single eye bit, except get him a false eye and human contacts or something but-"

"Calm down, it'll be fine." Laura tried to sooth her friend as she worked herself up.

"Fine?" Abby snapped. "Can't you see how scared he is?" she pointed at Will, whose eye had filled with tears once more as he clung to Laura, shaking all over.

"That's because you jerked him out of there with no warning instead of calmly answering the question and leaving." Laura hated to point out, but she did.

Abby stiffened. "Fine." She spat. "I'll go. You guys keep shopping since I'm such a hazard to him." Turning on her heels, she tried to stalk off, but Will reached out and caught her sleeve.

"I want you to stay." He said in a small, scared voice.

Abby stopped and her shoulders slumped as the anger melted out of her.

"Aw thanks Will. Sorry I keep scaring you so much." She said, looking defeated.

"Its ok." Will replied, letting go of her sleeve.

"So, where are we going to eat?" Abby said, rubbing her forehead once more.

"Lets find out." Laura suggested, and they all headed for the central plaza where the food was located.


End file.
